Google Honors the Fierce Selena

Google today premiered an animation of the late Mexican-American singer Selena to “celebrate [her] life and legacy.” In the article cited below, Perla Campos, Global Marketing Lead for Google Doodles and project manager for the Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle, talks with Billboard exclusively about the women who inspired her to thrive and succeed.

Campos who is also Mexican-American shares with Billboard, “There were always two women who taught me I could do anything and be anything I set my mind to: my mom and Selena. Selena has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.”

So many young American Latinas of her generation can relate to Ms. Campos’ experience – myself included. Whether motoring to class, or to one of my two jobs during college, songs like Bidi Bidi Bom Bom and Selena’s example of joy and strength inspired a can-do spirit, and positive outlook on life.

Ms. Campos is so right. Truly, a strong example at home – hard-working parents – and a positive, relatable role model in culture is sometimes all young people need to help fuel their dreams, and take that first critical step toward action to see those dreams fulfilled, or surpassed.

No doubt, Selena had a tremendous and positive influence on culture, and on a whole generation of American Latinos – not just because of her incredible talent, but also because of her authenticity, her ability to dream big, and her grit and determination – the kind you need to break through barriers of any kind, including poverty. Even at such a young age, Selena was fierce!

Suffice it to say, we need more strong examples in culture today that exemplify this amazing American artist’s values – strong family ties, an unwavering commitment to hard work, a positive message, and an uncanny ability to put action behind big dreams.

Check out Billboard’s article, and the beautiful animation created by Ms. Campos and her team at Google. I did. And I feel inspired today.

THE STORY BEHIND TODAY’S SELENA QUINTANILLA GOOGLE DOODLE: EXCLUSIVE: On Tuesday (Oct. 17), Google premiered their first-ever Selena QuintanillaGoogle Doodle, an animated singing cartoon of the late Mexican-American singer designed to celebrate the life and legacy of one of Latin music’s most formidable stars. Read more …